The present invention relates to portable shade structures, and particularly relates to portable shade structures which employ hooks for attaching the fabric shade cover to a structural frame work with the hooks being provided for means for avoiding snagging of the hook on the fabric shade cover.
There is a class of portable shade structures sold under the trademarks PORTASHADE, GAZEBO and PAVILION by the Gale Group, Inc. of Apopka, Fla., who is the assignee of the present invention. The construction of these portable shade structures are characterized by a structural framework which is easily broken down into a number of parts, the framework including a plurality of spaced vertical supports. Each vertical support includes a hook-receiving hole along the vertical support. The shade structure includes a removable fabric cover dimensioned to fit across the structural framework, and includes a plurality of hooks attached at spaced locations to the fabric cover, each hook dimensioned to removably fit into one of the hook-receiving holes of the vertical supports. In use, the hooks are employed to enable the fabric cover to be stretched across the structural support in a facile manner.
After use, the shade structure is then broken down for transporting by removing the fabric cover and then folding it up into a compact bundle, and the structural framework is then broken down.
One of the problems that has developed in the past with respect to this type of portable shade structure relates to the hooks attached to the fabric cover. When wrapped into a compact bundle, or during the installation or removal of the fabric cover, oftentimes the hooks snag into and damage the fabric cover. It is therefore an important feature of the present invention for the provision of a non-snagging hook useful for such portable shade structures.
Prior art patents of interest with respect to portable shade structures of this type include U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,371 to O'Ferrell et al, and South African Patent 86/4383 to Vosse.